Electric Fencing Technical Manual Reprint

RNR RDC Wengkhar Publication 003/2014 Manual
NPPC Semtokha /Reprinting/2017 Manual
Technical Reference Manual

for installation and maintenance
of Electric fence
RNR Research and Development Centre Wengkhar

PB 132 Mongar
Re-printing is funded by Department of Agriculture
WWF Project Human Wildlife Conflict Management &
Improving Food Security in Bhutan (WWF)
Ministry of Agriculture and Forest
January 2017 (Reprint Version)

Lay out and Design:
Lhap Dorji and Tshering Penjor, RNR RDC Wengkhar
Developed by:
Tshering Penjor, RNR RDC Wengkhar

Choki Nima, RNR RDC Wengkhar
Tshewang Norbu, RNR RDC Yusipang
Sangay Dorji, NPPC Semtokha
With comments from Bhutan Electricity Authority, Bhutan Power Corporation

Head Offices at Thimphu
Published by:
RNR Research and Development Centre Wengkhar
PB 132 Mongar
Department of Agriculture
May 2014
Re-printed by:
National Plant Protection Center (NPPC)
P.O. Box: 670, Semtokha
Department of Agriculture
January 2017
Technical Reference Manual for installation and maintenance of Electric Fence
Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................1
2. How an electric fence works? .................................................................................................1
3. Knowing the electric fence equipment ........................................................................................3
3.1 Energizer: ............................................................................................................................................ 3
3.2 Insulators:............................................................................................................................................ 4
3.3 Earth return (Electric fence earthing and household earthing are not similar): ................................. 4
4. Safety precautions .........................................................................................................................4
5. Construction of Electric Fence .........................................................................................................6
5.1 Need assessment of electric fence: ..................................................................................................... 6
5.2 Electing group leader and making Bylaws for the community: .......................................................... 7
5.3 Determining the location, length of electric fence and material requirement: .................................. 7
5.4 Estimating material requirement and costing: ................................................................................... 8
Table 2.Fencing material estimate for 1 strain fence wire per km ........................................................... 9
5.5 Preparation of HDPE pipe insulators: ................................................................................................ 10
5.6 Clearing and surfacing fence line: ..................................................................................................... 11
5.7 Preparation of wooden post: ............................................................................................................ 11
5.8 Fence design: .................................................................................................................................... 12
5.9 Fixing HDPE pipe insulator: ............................................................................................................... 14
5.9 a Fixing GI wire: ................................................................................................................................. 15
5.9 b Gate construction: .......................................................................................................................... 15
6. Installation of energizer................................................................................................................ 16
6.1 Setting up of energizer on thereof attic: When installing energizer on the roof attic the following
points should be considered. .................................................................................................................. 16
6.2 Setting up of energizer in a shed (outdoor): ..................................................................................... 17
6.3 Lightning Protection: ......................................................................................................................... 18
7. Installation of earthing ................................................................................................................. 18
7.1 How to build effective earth electrode using locally available materials? ................................. 19
8. Equipment testing, fault identification and rectification ................................................................ 20
8.1 How to test the energizer’s power supply system: ........................................................................... 20
8.2 How to test the energizer’s output: .................................................................................................. 20
8.3 How to test the ground system and rectify the fault ........................................................................ 20
8.4 How to test fence voltage and rectify the fault ................................................................................ 21
8.5 Alternative way to check the fence line voltage ............................................................................... 22
9. Fence maintenance ...................................................................................................................... 23
10. References ................................................................................................................................. 24
Annexure 1. ..................................................................................................................................... 25
APPLICATION / AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRIC FENCING ............................................................................ 25
Annexure 2. Energizers and accessories ............................................................................................ 28
Energizer, Earthing materials and other accessories .............................................................................. 28
Annexure 3. Hand tools and accessories ........................................................................................... 29
Hand tools and accessories required for electric fence installation and maintenance:......................... 29
i
1. Introduction
Crop depredation by wild animals is one the biggest human wildlife conflict (HWC) in Bhutan
especially for the farming communities in the rural areas. The conflict directly impacts on socio
economic development in rural areas. Some of these include high cost of agriculture
production (a lot of time spend in crop guarding), increasing rate of fallowing agricultural land
and rural urban migration. With the increasing intensity of the conflict, farmers are now
resorting to use of illegal and fatal methods of electric fencing by tapping electricity directly
from the main line and taking to the agricultural fields as evident from several incidents
reported in media. The issue has been discussed and deliberated in many forums at all levels,
and methods like snaring, culling, trapping of wild animal, use of sound and light repellent
including imported standard electric fence system have been experimented in the field on pilot
scale.
Although various options for crop protection are available, most are not effective or not opted
as it involves killing of animals. The model of electric fencing which includes imported IEC
certified energizer and locally fabricated fencing materials has proven to be successful after it
has been tested for more than 5 years in different locations targeting different problem species
of animals. This technology is not only found to be an effective control but also cost effective
and socially acceptable for the Bhutanese farmers.
Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA), Bhutan Power Cooperation (BPC), Bhutan Standard
Bureau (BSB) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF) recently approved the use of
electric fencing method for crop protection from wild animals (provided safety standards and
recommended accessories are used).
Therefore, this technical manual is developed for those who promote this technology to
provide standard guideline on electric fence installation and maintenance mainly focusing on
the fabricated fencing materials in order to ensure safety from use of electric fencing.
2. How an electric fence works?

The mechanisms in electric circuit that creates light is shown in Figure 1A in which the electric
bulb will light only when the electric circuit is completed between a positive and negative
terminal of the battery. Likewise, in electric fence system shown in Figure 1 B, the positive
terminal of the energizer is connected to the fence wires supported on the wooden poles via
insulator and the negative (earth) terminal is connected to the ground. The circuit is called
open circuit and no electric current flows in the circuit if the fence is not touched by an
external connection. So, when human or animals touch the fence wires, the electrical circuit
completes by passing current through their body to earth and return to the energizer. As a
result the animal or human will receive an electric shock. On the other hand, a bird sitting on
the fence wire without touching the ground will not receive any electric shock. The energizer
unlike batteries do not produce continuous current, instead produce current in pulse form (1-
1
2 pulses per second) and each pulse has pulse width (less than 100 micro seconds) and pulse
energy (<5 joules). This characteristic of the energizer makes electric fence system safe for
human and animals.
Figure 1A. Figure 1B.
The advantages and disadvantages of an electric fence are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of electric fence
Advantages Disadvantages
• Aside from repulsive electric shock, it does • Ineffective if the power is off or grounded
not harm the animal • Required frequent inspections and
• Electric fences are economical and relatively maintenance
easy to build compared to other fence e.g • Required technically trained personnel
barbed wire, wire mesh etc. during installation
• The animals learn to respect the electric
fence after few initial shocks and never
challenge the fence again
• Electric fences are not subjected to the same
physical pressure from animals, and can
therefore be expected to have a greatly
extended service life.
• Fences are versatile with a variety of design
possibilities.
• Can control wide range of wild animals
including domestic cattle
2
3. Knowing the electric fence equipment
There are wide ranges of electric fence equipments available in the market produced by
different manufacturers with different terms and units. Sometimes these terms and units used
to specify electric fences are difficult to understand. This section provides general guideline to
understand the basic component of the electric fence system. (also see Annexure 2 and 3 for
the tools and accessories required for installing electric fence system)
3.1 Energizer:
The energizer is the center of any electric fence system. It is sometimes

called fence charger or fence controller. The main function of energizer
is to produce high voltage (9-12Kilo Volt) of pulse electricity which is
delivered along the fence wires. The pulse rate of energizer will depend
upon the different manufacturers. Some manufacturers produce
energizers with fixed pulse rate normally 1-1.2 pulse/second while some
produce energizer where users can select the desired pulse rates for
controlling specific animals.
Types of energizers: There are mainly two types of energizers that can Lanstar Energizer
be used for fencing and they are:
• Electric powered energizer: These energizers that can be directly plugged in into the
home power supply. They are less expensive and require no battery maintenance.
• Solar and Battery powered energizers: A solar panel charges a lead acidic battery by
converting light into electricity. The battery stores this electricity to operate the
energizer. It is used in areas where there is no mains power.
Capacity of the energizers: Most energizer’s capacity is rated in either of these two terms:
• Stored energy and output energy in Joules: Stored Joules is a measure of the
amount of electrical energy stored in the main capacitor just before output. Output
Joules is a measure of the actual amount of electrical energy that is transferred to the
fence line. The energizer with higher the output joules can cover greater fencing area
at the same time pose greater risk to human and animal life than low joule energizers.
Therefore, some countries do not allow using energizers with an output more than 5
Joules.
• Kilometer or miles of effective fence length: Some manufacturers also rate their
energizers based on the maximum length of fence wire that it can power effectively.
The length of fence, for multi-strand fences, is the total length of conductor wire used.
For example, energizer capacity rated 2 km for 2 strains of wire can power only 1km
fence length for 4 strains of fence wire.
3
3.2 Insulators:
Insulators are a fundamental component of electric fence. They are

made from a non conductive material, either porcelain or
thermoplastic, and form a barrier between the electrified wire and its
wooden post to prevent current leakage to the ground. Those
insulators are not readily available in our market and are not cost
effective if imported. Using 32 or 25 mm HDPE pipe cut into 10-11 cm
length as an alternative insulators was found to be equally effective,
readily available in the local market and costs less compared to the HDPE Pipe pieces
imported ones.
used as Insulators
3.3 Earth return (Electric fence earthing and household earthing are not similar):
The electric fence earth return is sometimes referred as earth rod, spike, or simply earthing. It
is one of the important electric circuit’s paths in electric fence system. It collects the high
voltage and current from the ground/earth and returns it to the energizer. Without proper
earth, the electric fencing system will not work or be effective.
However, the electric fence earthing is quite different from household electric earthing in its
purposes. The main purpose of household electric earthing (ground) is to dump the electric
energy safely in the earth when there is faulty electric circuit i.e., short circuits, lightning strike
in the electric appliances or in the household electric circuits. (safety aspect i.e., not to get fatal
electric shock) where as in electric fence, the earth is used as returning path for electrons to
complete its circuit. So, an animal touching the fence wire gets an effective electric shock.
Therefore, house electrical earth cannot be used for electric fence earth or vice versa.
4. Safety precautions
The electric fences should be installed and operated in a way that

ensures there is no electrical hazard to people, animals or their
surroundings. The following safety precautions should be strictly
followed when installing electric fence in the field:
• Always seek approval from Bhutan power cooperation (BPC) especially

when using line (AC) powered energizers. The procedure on how to apply
for approval is presented in Annexure 1.
• For the safety purposes, use only IEC certified energizers and also never
use energizer whose output energy is more than 5 joules
• Clear warning or precaution sign boards should be put up mandatorily

Figure 2. Warning
signs 4
wherever electric fences are installed. This will help to reduce possibility of unaware people from
having secondary accidents like jerking back and hitting on rocks, trees, walls etc., when they receive
unexpected electric shock from the fence. The warning/precaution sign board should be at least
100mm x 200mm in size and clearly visible from 10 m distance. The Inscription should be written in
both Dzongkha and English and also with cartoon expression of electric shock (Shown in Figure 2) on
a yellow background.
• To be extra careful for the implementers to monitors the risk of an animal or person becoming
entangled in electric fence wires. Receiving few electric shocks for short duration from the electric
fence is harmless. However, if animal or person got entangled with fence wire, they will receive
prolonged period of repeated electric shock which might cause involuntary muscular contractions,
physical exhaustion and might die as a result. Normally animals with horns are vulnerable to be
entangled in electric fence.
• Never use barbed wire for electric fence or never electrify existing barbed wire fences. This is because
when human or animal gets electric shock from barbed wire fences they might get serious physical
injuries from barbed hooks.
• Do not allow children to pee on the electric fence. The shock sensation will be very painful and may
harm children
• A faulty electric fence can produce a spark, so do not place combustible materials (gasoline, kerosene,
cooking gas etc.,) near the fence or energizer
• An electric fence should not be powered from two separate energizers
• Since the purposes of electric earthing and electric fence earth are different, do not use household
electric earthing for electric fence or vice-versa. Also the when constructing electric fence earth it
should be separated at least 8-10 m distance from household electrical earth.
• Energizers if possible, should be installed inside the house on the roof attic unreachable by children. If
mounted outdoors, they should be mounted on a substantial structure to protect from rain and theft.
• Avoid as much as possible to build electric fence line in parallel to power and communication lines (as
shown in Figure 3A).
Figure 3A. Electric fence in parallel with power Figure 3B. Electric fence line in
line perpendicular to power line
5
• Electric fence wire crossing over with overhead power lines should be avoided wherever possible. If
such a crossing cannot be avoided, and the following clearance should be maintained and it should be
made underneath the power line at right angles to it.
Line Voltage (KV) Vertical Clearance (m)

< 1 KV 3
1 - 33 KV 4
> 33 KV 8
• Put another sign board (Figure 4) near the house where energizer is installed to remind the users and
other farmers to be aware and avoid using direct current for electric fencing.
Figure 4. Warning signboard
5. Construction of Electric Fence

There are many activities that have to be carried out before the actual construction of the
electric fence especially when carrying out at community or village level.
5.1 Need assessment of electric fence:
Before carrying out any physical activity, it is vital to first evaluate whether the community
investment (both monetary and labor contributions) required for installing and maintaining
electric fence system justify the level of crop damage by wild animals in the village. Depending
upon the length of the village boundary, it would take weeks or sometimes months to install
the fence around the village. If level of crop damages is not worth these investments, the
6
installation of electric fence in the village may face difficulty during implementation and also
become unsustainable after installation. Therefore, the electric fence advocators or
implementers should facilitate the community to make clear need assessment before
establishing electric fencing in the village.
5.2 Electing group leader and making Bylaws for the community:
After the need assessment exercise, advocator should facilitate the community to elect group
leader and make workable bylaws for electric fence group. It is essential because many issues
and disputes will rise during installation and maintenance of electric fence. However, the kind
of issues and disputes would vary from community to community but some of the common
points that should be reflected in the by-laws are as follows:
• Name of the group (example: Nalung electric fence Group)
• Roles and responsibility of the group leader
• Major issues and disputes in the group during the installation and solutions
• Major issues and disputes during maintenance and solutions
• Do and Don’ts of the group
• The bylaws should be agreed and signed by the all beneficiaries and get endorsed by Geog
Administration
5.3 Determining the location, length of electric fence and material requirement:
It is necessary to find out the exact location of the place and the approximate length of the
electric fence that is going to be installed. If the area is small, it can be easily done by
measuring manually. However, if the area is big (at village/community level), manual
measurement is not feasible and is going to take lots of time. If you have laptop installed with
Google Earth (free version. For e.g. see Figure 5) and connected with internet, this can be done
easily and more precisely without having to walk physically around the village boundary. You
can do planning as well as discussion with the farmers using this map before the actual
implementation of the work. For example we can:
• Find out the boundary where the fence needs to be installed in the village
• Get approximate length of the fence so that quantity of material (insulators, wooden poles, GI wire
etc.,) requirement can be estimated beforehand.
• Get approximate area enclosed by the fence boundary
• Find out approximate numbers of gates, crossover and corner poles that needs to be installed
7
• And also get other important information on village’s geographical features like the locations of
rock cliff, landslides areas, rivers, streams, forest etc., to get the proper alignment of electric fence.
EN
Forest
Forest
FR
EN EN
CLF CLF CLF

CLF CLF
Takliriver
Figure 5.Using Google Earth to develop initial electric fencing plan in the village.
Example
Village Village name: Mindrupling, Bangtaar Dungkhag

information Beneficiary households: 48 ; Approximate fence perimeter= 4 KM
No of gates needs to be installed=10 nos. Approximate area enclosed by the
electric fence=200 acres
Electric fence boundary
Overhead gate for vehicle
Overhead gate for people and livestock
CLF Steep cliff

EN House where energizer will be installed
FR Farm road
5.4 Estimating material requirement and costing:
The amount of material required can be estimated based on the information gathered from the
above exercise and baseline data for 1 km fencing estimate is shown in Table 2:
8
Table 2.Fencing material estimate for 1 strain fence wire per km

Materials Quantity Per KM (Estimate)
Wooden poles
1. Plain area 330 nos
2. Sloppy areas 450 nos
32mm HDPE Pipe
1. Plain areas 34.65 m
2. Sloppy areas 47.25 m
3 inch nails
1. Plain areas 4.8 Kg
2. Sloppy areas 6 Kg
GI wire (SWG 16) 17 Kg
GI wire (SWG 18) 10 Kg
Example:
Let’s take the Mindrupling village as an example for estimating the material requirements and cost
estimate.
• The electric fence perimeter around the village= 4 KM
• Land terrain type: 80% plain and 20% sloppy
• Number of strain of wire in the fence= 3 strains, Size 16 SWG
• Solar powered energizer
Therefore, length of fence in plain area(80%) = 4 km X 0.8= 3.2 KM

Length of fence in slope area (20%) = 4 km X0.2= 0.8 Km
Material requirement:
Wooden post= In plain area (3.2 km X 330/km)= 1056

In the slope area(0.8 km X 450/km) = 360
Total= 2301posts
HDPE pipe= In plain area(3.2 km X 34.65m/km X 3 strains) =332.64m
=In slope area(0.8 km X 47.25m/km X 3 strains) = 113.40 m
Total= 446m
3 inch nails= In plain area (3.2km X 4.8/km X 3 strains = 46.08kg
Slope 0.8 km X 6kg/km X 3 strains = 14.4 kg
Total=60.48 kg
GI wire (SWG 16)=(4 km X 17kg/km X 3 strains) = 204 kg
Gear oil= 4 km X 0.3L/km X 3 strains= 3.6L
Cost estimate:
The cost of the materials such as HDPE pipe, GI wire, nails may vary from Dzongkhag to Dzongkhag
due to the transportation cost. The item rate in the Table 3 is as of Mongar in 2012.
9
Table 3. Cost estimate for 4 km, 3 strains wire electric fence (CIF Mongar 2012)
Item Quantity Rate (Nu) Total (Nu)

• HDPE pipe (32mm) 446m 48/m 21408.00
• GI wire (SWG 16) 204kg 95/kg 19380.00
• Gear-oil 3.6 L 254/L 914.40
• 3 inch nails 60.48 KG 80/kg 4838.40
• Earthing plates 6pcs 600/pcs 3600.00
• Energizer 3 set 9500/set 28500.00
• Acidic battery 3 nos 2800/pcs 8400.00
• Solar Panel (20 watts) 3 nos 7000/pcs 21000.00
• Charge controller 3nos 1800/pcs 5400.00
• 7/22 copper wire 1 rolls 4500/roll 4500.00
• Other accessories 1000.00
Total cost 1,18,940.80
Cost/KM 29,735.20
Note: Poles and labour cost not accounted as these can be contributed by the beneficiary (individual or
community)
5.5 Preparation of HDPE pipe insulators:
Insulator forms a barrier between the electrified wire and its support material to prevent
current leakage to the ground. The manufactured insulators are not easily available in our
market and are not cost effective if we import. Therefore, using HDPE pipe as an alternative
insulator was found to be equally effective, readily available and cost almost 4-5 times less
compared to the imported ones. A HDPE pipe (32mm or 25 mm diameter, 10 kg/cm2 pressure
capacity type) can be cut into 10-11cm length, drilled hole at the center and fixed with two 3
inch nails at the both ends of the pipe (Figure 6A & B). The nails should be soaked in the gear
oil to prevent rusting before fixing to the HDPE pipes.
Figure 6A. Dimension of HDPE pipe insulator Figure 6B. Preparing HDPE pipe insulators
10
5.6 Clearing and surfacing fence line:
Without adequate clearing and leveling, the electric fence system become ineffective very
easily due to leakage of electric current to ground through either by touching the fence wire
directly to the ground or to the vegetation. Therefore, at least about 1.5m width of bush
clearing and surfacing works are required along the boundary (Figure 7) for successful
establishment of electric fence.
1.5m
Figure 7. Clearing and surfacing fence line
5.7 Preparation of wooden post:
In general the supporting wooden pole should be 10-18 cm in diameter but length depends
upon the species of animals to be controlled. Removing the bark, sharpening the top end and
painting the bottom end with used engine oil will help the poles to last longer (Figure 8 A). The
poles should be fixed firmly in the soil following the outline of cleared surface (Figure 8B). The
distances between poles should be maintained based on the terrain type.
A B
Figure 8: Bark removing and painting of wooden poles (A); Wooden poles fixed in the soil
(B).
11
In the flat terrain the posts should be spaced 2.5-3 m apart while for uneven/sloppy terrain it
should be spaced about 2m or less. On hillsides, pole should be installed perpendicular to the
slope to keep the wire at the proper height and prevent from touching the ground or the
insulators (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Posts installed perpendicular tothe slope
5.8 Fence design:
The number of wires in the fence and their position depends on the size and agility of the
target species to be controlled. The number and position of wires should be designed to stop
animals being easily escape without touching the wire or jump over them (Figure 10 A & B).
Figure 10 A. Monkey carefully crossing electric Figure 10 B. Monkey using electric fence pole
fence without touching the wire itself to jump across the fence
12
The fence designed to control smaller, agile species such as wild rabbits and porcupines
requires the first wire positioned about 0.14-0.16 m from the ground whereas bigger animals
like wild boar, deer, bear etc., requires 3-4 strains of wires positioned at 0.25, 0.4-0.5, 0.7-0.8
and 1-1.2 meter from the ground(Figure 11).
Figure 11. Fence design for porcupines, wild pig, deer, bear and stray cattle
For elephant, one or two strains of wire should be positioned at 1.5-1.8 m from the ground and
the supporting the poles should be erected at 450 angles from the entrance side of the field.
The post should be protected by providing a few loops of electrified wire around the post
(Figure 12).
Inside Electrified GI wire

fixed at 1.5-1.8 m
above the ground
Earth return wire
Supporting pole at
45⁰ angle
For wild boar and

other animals
Outside
Figure 12. Fence design for wild elephant
13
For primates (monkeys) the overall

height of the fence will depend on
the height that a monkey can jump
from a free standing position. The
primates can jump very high when
they have a platform like trees,
rocks etc., to propel themselves
from. Therefore, trees and rocks
situated near to the fence must be
removed and a large enough space
must be cleared. The actual fence
design is given in Figure 13 with
seven strains of wires. The 7th strain
should be supported on the 25cm
HDPE pipe which is fixed on the top Figure 13.Fence design for primates
of the wooden pole at 900 angles to
the entrance side of the field. This design will prevent monkey climbing on the wooden post
and jump into the field.
5.9 Fixing HDPE pipe insulator:
After determining the number and the position of each wire, the HDPE pipe insulator has to be
fixed firmly on each wooden pole. When fixing at least 3-4 cm gap should be kept between each
HDPE insulator and the wooden post.
Wire tension
Spark
Wire tension
Figure 14A. HDPE insulator fixed in opposite Figure 14B. HDPE insulator fixed in same
direction of the wire tension direction of the wire tension
14
Always fix the HDPE insulator in opposite direction of the wire tension (Figure 14A) especially
when fixing in the curves and turning posts. If it is fixed in the same direction of the wire
tension the wire will touch the wooden pole and create short circuit which may cause electrical
spark (Figure 14B)
5.9 a Fixing GI wire:
After fixing HDPE pipe to wooden posts, first the

GI wire should be soaked with gear oil and then
pulled through each HDPE insulator. It needs
helping hands and coordination of many people as
each strain of wire has to be pulled through
several numbers of HDPE pipe insulators for
several meters of fence length (Figure 15).
5.9 b Gate construction:
Proper gates are required in an electric fence for

people, cattle even machineries like tractors,
trucks etc., to access the farm. There are two Figure 15: Fixing GI wire
methods to construct electric fence gates:
i. Underground gate: Taking the electric circuit underground with use of heavy
insulation materials (able to insulate >20,000 V). This method is simple but heavy
insulation materials are hard to find and expensive (See Figure 16 A).
ii. Overhead gate: Using long wooden poles to take the electric circuit beyond the reach of
passing object. This method is cheap as normal HDPE pipe insulators and GI wire can be
used to support the high voltage electric circuit overhead effectively. Any size of the
gate can be designed by this method (See Figure 16B)
Figure 16A. Underground gate Figure 16B. Overhead gate
15
6. Installation of energizer
In general the energizer should be installed in secure place where there is no risk incurring
from fire or mechanical damages, reach of children and animals. In our rural context, the safe
place to keep the energizer (both mains and solar powered) indoor is on the roof attic.
However, the fencing area should be near by the house and should not be more than 150 m
from the house. If the distance between house and fencing area is more than 150 m, it is better
to build proper shed near the fence area and power the system by solar or request Bhutan
Power Cooperation (BPC) to extend separate power connection to the field.
6.1 Setting up of energizer on thereof attic: When installing energizer on the roof attic the
following points should be considered.
• The distance between energizer and the fencing area should not be more than 150 m.
• Avoid the having the household power supply cable and the energizer’s output cable in the
same side of the house. If possible install the energizer on the opposite side of the power
supply cable (Figure 17). If at all not possible, separate the energizer’s output cable from
the household power supply cable at least by 3m distance.
Figure 17. Installing energizer on the roof attic

• The output from the energizer should be taken to the fencing area by overhead connection
supported on 6-8m high wooden poles. The supporting wooden poles should be erected
every 40-50m intervals. Avoid GI wire touching to any standing structures.
16
• Also avoid the overhead wire running parallel to power line and other communication
lines.
• If there is no power plug points installed on the roof attic, ask BPC personnel or authorized
electrician to extend supply from the household MCB switch box to the roof attic. The
general connection plan for supplying power for energizer from household power supply is
given in Figure 18. Before mounting the energizer on the roof attic, make sure to read and
follow all the company provided instructions for installation of the energizer.
Install 2 pin
plug point.
Capacity 5-
6A max
Figure18. General wiring plan for electric powered energizer
6.2 Setting up of energizer in a shed (outdoor):
The sheds are commonly built in a location where the fencing area is very far from house and
mostly powered by solar and battery. However, sometime shed needs to be built near the
house if there is no proper place in the house to keep the energizer and accessories safely.
• Shed should be constructed in an appropriate safe location outreach of children and animals (at
least 2-3m high) (see Figure 19 and 20)
• It should have enough space to keep energizer and other accessories freely. It should be rain proof.
17
• The insect like ants, wasp and bees love to build nest in the shed. Frequent monitoring is required
• If powered by solar, the solar panel should be positioned and fixed properly to get the maximum
sunlight
Figure 19. Installing energizer outdoor Figure 20. Wiring plan for solar
powered energizer
6.3 Lightning Protection:
Electric fence energizers are sensitive and easily damaged by lightning surges. Under Bhutan
conditions, the lightning surges coming from power supply side is more common than coming
from fence side. This is because there are many structures which are much taller than electric
fence poles. Therefore, use of a power surge protector is recommended for electric powered
energizer.
7. Installation of earthing
The quality of the earthing (earth return) is vital to maximizing the performance of fence
fencing system. Without proper earth system, electric fence system become incomplete circuit
and has no effects on animals when touching the fence wire. There are two types of electric
fence earthing system:
• Earth electrode only system: This system consists of one more earth electrodes driven
into the ground alongside the fence and connected to the energizer’s negative terminal.
It is used in the situation where soils are consistently wet and have low resistance to
the flow of electricity (Figure 21).
• Earth electrode plus earth return system: In this system one stain of the fence wire is
connected to energizer’s negative terminal and run along the entire length of the fence.
At regular intervals (about 50m) series of earth electrodes are driven into the ground
18
and connected to earth return wire. This type of system provides a more effective and
reliable earth system in a place where soil has low moisture and poor conductionof
electricity (Figure 22). The main drawback of this system is that it increases the
likelihood of a dead short if live and earthed wires were to come into contact.
Earth return wire
Figure 21: Earth electrode system Figure 22: Earth electrode plus earth
return system
7.1 How to build effective earth electrode using locally available materials?
An effective earth electrode can be made using locally available materials as shown below:
• Dig a pit measuring about 1 x 1 m width and 1.5-2 m depth where the soil remains moist most of the
time. In the village the most suitable place is just below the tap water drainage. But before digging
the pit, make sure the household electrical earth is not close by. The household electrical earth should
be separated at least by 5-10 m from fence earth.
Figure 23A. GI earth plate Figure 23B. GI earth plate placed vertically
in the pit
• Normal GI electrical earth plates of different sizes are available in local hardware shops. Choose
medium size plate although the bigger size is better. The plate should be connected with GI or
aluminum wire with supplied nut bolt and burry in the pit vertically (Figure 23 A and B). Then should
19
fill pit with a mixture of wood char-coal powder, table salt and sand all in equal part and add water on
the top. The pit should be watered daily during the dry season.
8. Equipment testing, fault identification and rectification

After the completion of all the installation works, proper testing, fault identification and
rectification are necessary before actual commissioning the electric fence.
8.1 How to test the energizer’s power supply system:
Test the energizers power supply system as shown below:
• Read the energizer’s instruction manual carefully before

connecting to the power supply.
• Plug the energizer into a power outlet (mains or battery)

and switch ON.
• If the Power on LED on the front of the energizer is green the

power supply is OK.
Figure 24. Testing with
• If no LED is on, check the power supply connections
digital fence voltmeter
8.2 How to test the energizer’s output:
Test energizers output as shown below:
• Switch the energizer and check the output LED flash periodically. If yes, then there is output from
the energizer
• Without connecting the energizer to the fence and earth, test the output voltage with the electric
fence voltmeter (Figure 24). If there is no output voltage or less than 5KV, then there is fault with
the energizer. Should immediately contact the manufacturer.
8.3 How to test the ground system and rectify the fault
You can test the ground system and rectify as shown below:
• Turn off the energizer.
• About 100 m away from the energizer, short-circuit the fence by laying 2-3 metal pegs against the
fence. The metal peg should drive into the ground at least 20-30 cm.
• Turn the energizer on.
20
• Using digital voltmeter check the ground voltage as shown in the Figure 25.
• The reading on the voltmeter shouldn’t be more than 300V. If anything higher than this value
indicates rectification of earth return is required.
• Rectification: Either improved the existing earth by adding more earth plates or build additional
earth and connect together.
Figure 25. Testing ground with voltmeter
8.4 How to test fence voltage and rectify the fault
Test the fence voltage and rectify as shown below:
• Connect both fence and earth lines to the energizer and power on the energizer
• Drive the negative pin of the fence voltmeter into the soil about 20-30 cm depth. Now read the
voltage on each strand of fence. The voltage should at least above 3 KV on each fence wire to be
effective.
• If it is less than 3 KV but greater than 1KV, there is either current leak with fence wire or the total
length fence is above energizers capacity to run or sign of poor earth system.
• If the reading is zero volts, it is either there is dead short circuit in the fence or not connected to
the energizer at all. (see Figure 26)
21
Figure 26. Testing the fence voltage
• The most common cause of low voltage in the fence line is due to the current leak on the fence line.
This leaking of electrical discharge will form of an 'arc', which can be heard as clicking sound that
is heard when walking along the fence line. It is cause by faulty insulators either improper
installation or physical damage of the HDPE insulators. The fault can be rectified easily by
replacing the faulty insulators.
• The dead short circuit fault occurs when a live fence wire become totally connected to the earth by
breaking the fence line and touching the ground completely or the green vegetation totally
touching the fence wire. This can be rectify by repairing the fence wire or removing the vegetation
8.5 Alternative way to check the fence line voltage
If digital fence voltmeter is not available

there is alternative way to check the
fence line voltage. This is done by using
small piece of insulated wire joining one
end to the fence and bringing other end
nearer to the ground. If the fence voltage
is above 3KV, electric spark will jump 2-
3cm gap distance with a strong click
when the other end of wire is brought
near to the ground (Figure 27).
Figure 27. Testing fence voltage without digital

voltmeter
22
9. Fence maintenance
Once established, electric fences should be monitored frequently. Daily inspections are
required during 1st-2nd week after fence establishment for the following reasons:
• The intensity of the initial electric shock felt by an animal determines its subsequent reaction to
the fence. Therefore, daily inspections are required to ensure that fence lines are working perfectly
so that animals have the maximum opportunity to receive the initial effective shock
• When animals encountering the electric shock for the first time may react differently. Some may
step back and deter it from crossing the fence while some would cross the fence very forcefully and
thereby damaging the fence i.e., breaking of fence wire, insulator or pulling down the wooden
poles etc. Therefore, daily inspections are required to repair such damage
After 2nd-3rd weeks after installation, most animals would have encountered the electric shock
and will tend to avoid the fence. Therefore, the daily inspection is not necessary. Weekly
inspection is enough. At each inspection the following activity should be performed:
• Walk the perimeter of the fence regularly to ensure that the fence remains operational. Clear
vegetation and other objects that may short-out the fence.
• Check the voltage output of the fence regularly to ensure it is functioning properly.
• The fence wire and the nails should be soaked with engine or gear oil at least twice a year to keep
them free from rust.
• The electrical pulse should be checked at each end of the fence and on each conductor wire on
multi-wire fences
• The connections between the power and energizer, the energizer and earth rod and the energizer
and fence should be checked
23
10. References
• British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (1996). Introduction to

electric fencing.
• T.Penjor and ChokiNima (2011): Progress report on locally fabricated solar electric
fence in Mindrupling village under Bangtaar Dungkhag.
• T.Penjor (2010): The technical details of fabricated electric fencing system, Report
submitted to Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA) and Bhutan Power Cooperation (BPC)
• RNR-RDC Wengkhar, MoAF (2011). Poster on basic working principle of electric fencing
system
• I G McKillop, H W Pepper, R Butt and D W Poole: Electric Fence Reference Manual
• Midwest Rural Energy Council: Installation and Operation of Electric Fences, Cow
Trainers and Crowd Gates.
24
Annexure 1.
Bhutan Power Corporation Limited

Distribution and Customer Services Department
APPLICATION / AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRIC FENCING

Date:…………………
The Manager
Electric Services Division,
Distribution & Customer Services Department
Sir/Madam,
We would like to request for the electric fencing connection at the location described below:
(a) District:_______________________ (b) Geog:____________________________

(c) Village:_______________________ (d) Name of area:_____________________
(e) Approximate length of fencing in meter:____________________________________
We hereby declare that the Company’s Terms and Conditions of Supply of Electricity including the Schedule of
Tariffs and Miscellaneous Charges have been read by me/us and I/We agree to be bound by all the terms and
conditions laid in here.
I/We assure that all the information filled in above by me/us are true and that we are liable for any action by the
Company as per sub-clause 4.2 and 25.2 of Low Voltage Terms & Condition, if any of the information filled in are
incorrect.
I/We hereby declare that through this Agreement, Bhutan Power Corporation Limited (BPC) shall be indemnified,
and hold harmless from any and all actual or alleged claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, loss, damage
and or injury (to the property or to person including without limitation to death) resulting from electric fencing
and its accessories.
Affix
Name:_______________________ ID Card Number:___________________ legal
Stamp
Mobile No:____________________________________
Signature of the Customer
(For the group fencing, name and signature on the legal stamp by all the group members must be attached
separately)
25
I. TO BE COMPLETED BY THE CONCERNED GUP
The area identified by the above applicant/applicants for electric fencing is registered under Tharm
number:_____________, Village:___________________, Geog:___________________
Dzongkhag:____________________________
The Geog office declare that BPC shall be indemnified, and hold harmless from any and all actual or alleged claims,
demands, causes of action, liabilities, loss, damage and or injury (to the property or to person including without
limitation to death) resulting from electric fencing and its accessories.
Signature and seal of Gup
II. RECOMMENDATION BY THE CONCERNED RNR EXTENSION OFFICER
(Tick appropriately)
ELECTRIC FENCING IS: REQUIRED NOT REQUIRED FOR THE ABOVE INDIVIDUAL/GROUP
If electric fencing is installed for the above Individual/Group, BPC shall be indemnified, and hold harmless from
any and all actual or alleged claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, loss, damage and or injury (to the
property or to person including without limitation to death) resulting from electric fencing and its accessories.
The electric fence energizer conforms to the approved specification as per Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA)
approval no. BEA/CEO/COM/2011-12/3097 dated June 28, 2012
The applicant/applicants electric fencing systems was inspected and found to be (tick appropriately)
Satisfactory Unsatisfactory for release of electric supply
Signature and seal
Of Agriculture/Forest/Livestock Officers
III. TO BE FILLED BY THE BHUTAN POWER CORPORATION LIMITED
The electric fencing shall be connected from:
Meter Number:
Consumer Number:
Meter type and capacity:
Meter multiplication factor:
26
CT ratio of meter (If CT Operated)
The electric wire connection to the electric fencing energizer and earthing system was checked and found to
be (tick appropriately)
Satisfactory Unsatisfactory for release of electricity supply
Verified by:
(Name and Signature of Supervisor/Engineer)
(Name and Signature of Manager/In-charge with official seal)
27
Annexure 2. Energizers and accessories

Energizer, Earthing materials and other accessories
• Line powered energizer
Energizer (2 Joules 7/22 copper wire (red=20m, Finger switch=1

output)=1nos Blue=20m)
Earthing plate (2-6nos Aluminium sheet to make shed

depends upon soil types) = 1 m X 1.8 m
• Solar powered energizer: additional items
Solar panel (20-40 Watts)= Lead acidic battery ( 14- Battery charge controller
1nos 20Amp/Hr)=1nos (6-10 Amp)=1 nos
28
Annexure 3. Hand tools and accessories

Hand tools and accessories required for electric fence installation and maintenance:
Electric fence volt meter= 1 nos Digital voltmeter=1nos Battery operated hand drill=
1 nos
Drill bits for metal(1.5-10mm Pliers= 2-3 nos Claw-hammer=2-3 nos

size)= 1 set
Screw driver= 1 set Pruning saw=1-2nos Electric insulation tape=2-3

nos
29

Electric Fencing Technical Manual Reprint

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Electric Fencing Technical Manual Reprint

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RNR RDC Wengkhar Publication 003/2014 Manual

NPPC Semtokha /Reprinting/2017 Manual

Technical Reference Manual

RNR Research and Development Centre Wengkhar

January 2017 (Reprint Version)

Lhap Dorji and Tshering Penjor, RNR RDC Wengkhar

Tshering Penjor, RNR RDC Wengkhar

With comments from Bhutan Electricity Authority, Bhutan Power Corporation

2. How an electric fence works?

Figure 1A. Figure 1B.

The advantages and disadvantages of an electric fence are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of electric fence

3. Knowing the electric fence equipment

The energizer is the center of any electric fence system. It is sometimes

Insulators are a fundamental component of electric fence. They are

The electric fences should be installed and operated in a way that

• Always seek approval from Bhutan power cooperation (BPC) especially

• Clear warning or precaution sign boards should be put up mandatorily

• An electric fence should not be powered from two separate energizers

Line Voltage (KV) Vertical Clearance (m)

Figure 4. Warning signboard

5. Construction of Electric Fence

5.1 Need assessment of electric fence:

• Name of the group (example: Nalung electric fence Group)

• Roles and responsibility of the group leader

• Major issues and disputes during maintenance and solutions

• Do and Don’ts of the group

• Get approximate area enclosed by the fence boundary

CLF CLF CLF

Village Village name: Mindrupling, Bangtaar Dungkhag

CLF Steep cliff

5.4 Estimating material requirement and costing:

Table 2.Fencing material estimate for 1 strain fence wire per km

Therefore, length of fence in plain area(80%) = 4 km X 0.8= 3.2 KM

Wooden post= In plain area (3.2 km X 330/km)= 1056

GI wire (SWG 16)=(4 km X 17kg/km X 3 strains) = 204 kg

Gear oil= 4 km X 0.3L/km X 3 strains= 3.6L

Item Quantity Rate (Nu) Total (Nu)

5.5 Preparation of HDPE pipe insulators:

5.6 Clearing and surfacing fence line:

Figure 7. Clearing and surfacing fence line

5.7 Preparation of wooden post:

Figure 9. Posts installed perpendicular tothe slope

5.8 Fence design:

Inside Electrified GI wire

Earth return wire

For wild boar and

For primates (monkeys) the overall

5.9 Fixing HDPE pipe insulator:

After fixing HDPE pipe to wooden posts, first the

5.9 b Gate construction:

Proper gates are required in an electric fence for

Figure 16A. Underground gate Figure 16B. Overhead gate

Figure 17. Installing energizer on the roof attic

Figure18. General wiring plan for electric powered energizer

6.2 Setting up of energizer in a shed (outdoor):

6.3 Lightning Protection:

Earth return wire

8. Equipment testing, fault identification and rectification

8.1 How to test the energizer’s power supply system:

Test the energizers power supply system as shown below:

• Read the energizer’s instruction manual carefully before

• Plug the energizer into a power outlet (mains or battery)

(a) District:_ (b) Geog:______